Letter to The Washington Post

Hi Mr. Fisher, I was meaning to call you and discuss this but as they say, 'life gets in the way.' The main point that you may want to recheck is the statement that after the 1948 war ended, "one of the areas still under Palestinian control was the Gaza Strip." It was actually Egypt - a pretty important distinction. I have listed a fair number of other points in brackets that are pretty big points as well. I hope you take this in the spirit of making your piece even better. Thanks, Michael Berenhaus, OD Addressing a few points in: http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/worldviews/wp/2012/11/21/9-questions-about-israel-gaza-you-were-too-embarrassed-to-ask/ 9 questions about Israel-Gaza you were too embarrassed to ask By Max Fisher , Updated: November 21, 2012 2. Whoa! How did that happen? In 1948[actually 1947], the United Nations declared that the British territory known as Palestine would be divided into two independent countries: Israel and Palestine[actually a Jewish and an Arab country - no names were given]. Arab leaders rejected the declaration and invaded to maintain [CREATE - not maintain - there was never a unified, independent Palestine there before - ever] a unified, independent, Arab Palestine [not true - evidence shows that it was a landgrab by Egypt as evidenced by their keeping Gaza and for Jordan as evidenced by their keeping the West Bank]. They lost, and by the time fighting ended, Israel controlled even more of the land than the U.N. declaration had granted the new country. One of the areas still under Palestinian control was the Gaza Strip[not true - even the map associated with this article shows that Gaza became part of Egypt after the 1948]. Israel occupied the territory in 1967, after another war with Arab states but withdrew its troops and settlers in 2005. Israel [don't forget to say - and Egypt] still maintains extremely tight restrictions on trade in and out of Gaza, which has a 40 percent unemployment rate. Thirty-eight percent of Gazans live under the poverty line. Gaza is not an independent country. 3. Who is Hamas, and why do they hate Israel? Hamas is an Islamist militant group based in Gaza, where it won a 2006 U.S.-backed election [Hamas won legislative victories - Premiership was not won by elections but by a coupe against Fatah in June of 2007]. The United States and other countries designate it as a terrorist group. It formed in 1987 as a “resistance” group, pledging to destroy Israel and replace it with an all-Palestinian state. It has since significantly softened its demands to an independent Palestinian state along the 1967 borders (more on this later), but it still does not formally recognize Israel as a legitimate country and still commits violent acts against Israeli troops and civilians. [As far as Hamas softening their demands: The Washington Post squashes this idea - Scott Wilson reported "In Gaza, surge of support for Hamas starts to fade," (11/30/12), that Mahmoud Zahar, a Hamas founder and the movement’s foreign minister, states “First, our land is not just the West Bank and Gaza, and that is important. It is all of Palestine.” (meaning Israel) Joel Greenberg also reported in "Exiled Leader of Hamas visits Gaza Strip" (12/8/12) that Hamas leader, Khaled Meshal stated ""I ask God that my fourth birth will be the day when all of Palestine is liberated, " Meshal said. "Today Gaza, and after it Ramallah, then Jerusalem, then Haifa and Jaffa God willing, he said, naming areas Israel occupied in the 1967 Six-Day War along with cities inside Israel."] So Mr. Fisher, with the Foreign Minister and the Hamas leader both still claiming all of Israel for their own as evidenced by The Washington Post's fine reporters, how could anyone still say that their view has softened? Best to you, Michael